Liquid carrier compositions for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and other biocidally active compounds which contain an emulsifier mixture of an oil and an alkoxylated ester of a polyhydroxylated hydrocarbon and a carbodiimide or polymer thereof are useful agrochemical solutions and additionally have several other non-agrochemical uses including diluents for forming oil-in-water (ON) or water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions for cleaning and disinfecting formulations, pesticidal sprays or dips for treating livestock and domesticated pets, etc. The concentrates also find use as additives to existing commercial formulations for the stabilization of many active compounds. Such concentrates are particularly useful for preventing or minimizing the degradation of water labile biocidally active aza compounds. Typically, a formulation containing aza compounds in a concentrate is disclosed in our co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/169,697. This anhydrous concentrate additionally contains a carbodiimide, a C8-18 alkyl lactam and a lipophilic/hydrophilic emulsifier mixture. The compositions disclosed in this patent are suitably employed for the present treatment preventing gel formation and are incorporated herein by reference.
While several prior concentrate carriers containing a carbodiimide and an emulsifier mixture are highly effective in producing microemulsions and initially sprayable liquids which are stabilized against decomposition of the active agent, it has been found that in many cases the active carrier itself is subject to gel formation during subsequent handling or storage, particularly during storage at elevated temperatures, or when higher concentrations of the alkoxylated esters or carbodiimide, water scavenging agent, are present in the concentrate. Since, for certain applications including pump and aerosol sprays, crop spraying and animal dips, gel formation is undesirable, extensive research has been directed to extending the shelf life of such concentrates or solutions to accommodate delayed use of at least a portion of the liquid concentrate.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to overcome the above problem by providing a diluent solution or concentrate which does not undergo thickening or gelling for a period up to 6 months or more while retaining stability of the active component and other desirable formulation characteristics.
Another object is to provide a pesticidal microemulsion suitable for spray or dip administration to crops, livestock and pets.
Another object is to provide an effective and economical gel inhibited formulation containing a stabilized biocidally active compound in aqueous solution which has extended shelf life at both ambient and elevated temperatures.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and disclosure.
In accordance with this invention there is provided a stable anhydrous, gel free, liquid concentrate having a Brookfield viscosity less than 1,000 cps essentially containing, as the concentrate, (i) an active biocidal component, (ii) a carbodiimide and (iii) a lipophilic/hydrophilic emulsifier mixture having an HLB of 6-20, to which is added between about 0.5 and about 30 wt. %, based on total concentrate composition, of an anti-gelling agent which is an inorganic oxide of an alkaline earth element, an epoxidized vegetable oil or an epoxidized ester of a saturated or unsaturated C6 to C18 aliphatic acid optionally containing hydroxy substitution and mixtures of the foregoing anti-gelling agents. The concentrate may additionally contain up to 40 wt. % of an oil solvent to solubilize certain anti-gelling agents or active components which are not readily assimilated in the concentrate system.